School wants to know what you've been doing after graduation

[Cesare]

This will be my second cycle and for one of the apps they ask that "if it has been more than 6 months after graduation what have you been doing during that time?" I've been looking for jobs, but that has been ridiculously difficult (not only for me but for several of my former classmates as well). Would it be ok to just skip that question (it is on the general application, not the department specific one)? I just feel weird writing down "unemployed" and "sitting at home." 

[danieleWrites]

The military trained me to never leave an answer blank, so I get all weird about leaving things blank. This is an application, so the goal is to truthfully present yourself in the best light. You could leave it blank, but I imagine one of three things will happen. They don't particularly care about the answer, so it won't matter. They'll care about the answer and it will affect you negatively. Or, they'll ask you for the missing information. I don't see how an unanswered application question will affect you positively.

 

Honestly? I think you should answer it. The aim of these questions isn't to find out what you did, but to find out how you've maintained your work and/or scholarship in the field. If you have been doing independent research, to stay in the game, you can mention it. For example: I have been independently researching effects of invasive pythons in the Mark Twain National Forest and participating in herptefauna cataloging with the State Herpetological Society while exploring employment options. If you haven't been doing research, don't say you are. The truth will out.

 

If you haven't been working, go volunteer somewhere. If you haven't been maintaining your scholarship, start.

[CP3]

The military trained me to never leave an answer blank, so I get all weird about leaving things blank. This is an application, so the goal is to truthfully present yourself in the best light. You could leave it blank, but I imagine one of three things will happen. They don't particularly care about the answer, so it won't matter. They'll care about the answer and it will affect you negatively. Or, they'll ask you for the missing information. I don't see how an unanswered application question will affect you positively.

 

Honestly? I think you should answer it. The aim of these questions isn't to find out what you did, but to find out how you've maintained your work and/or scholarship in the field. If you have been doing independent research, to stay in the game, you can mention it. For example: I have been independently researching effects of invasive pythons in the Mark Twain National Forest and participating in herptefauna cataloging with the State Herpetological Society while exploring employment options. If you haven't been doing research, don't say you are. The truth will out.

 

If you haven't been working, go volunteer somewhere. If you haven't been maintaining your scholarship, start.

Kudos! I think the schools are either A: trying to see what you are doing with your degree or B: trying to see what you are doing in your field or C: both or maybe D: what are you doing in your field to help you apply to earn another degree. It could go on A-Z. My situation is that I applied last year, got flat out rejected, and now I am coming to the realization that I may need to wait until next Fall to apply. I work a grunt job that has absolutely nothing to do with my degrees, but I have to pay the bills. However, I am spending hours per week outside of my crappy job on scholarship, the job is "funding" my future, as far as I'm concerned. 

 

Answer the question! Be honest, but don't sound negative about it.

[juilletmercredi]

Answer the question, but definitely don't answer it "unemployed and sitting at home", lol.  Be truthful - in the year since graduating, you've been looking for full-time employment and preparing to apply to graduate school.  Part of that preparation process has been studying for the GRE, soliciting letters of recommendation, polishing your statement and researching schools.

[TakeruK]

I think in general, it's actually okay to leave a lot of questions blank, especially if you do not think answering will help you. For example, for one school that did not require the Physics GRE, even though I did take the test, I did not answer that question. Or, some schools will have questions like "Where else did you apply?" or if you are an international student, questions about your finances (you will eventually need to provide this information in order to get your visa and/or foreign student status). Even though this financial information is not actually needed until after you are accepted, some schools ask for it right away to streamline the process. When I applied, most applications had 6 or 7 screens/pages of questions but only 2-3 were usually actually required. **Note: However, sometimes schools have their financial aid questions along with the application so you would want to answer them to apply for any extra financial support! Make sure you read each section carefully

 

For this particular question, like daniele said, there really isn't any advantage to leaving it blank. Like any other job interview question, if you don't have great response, make sure you present whatever you say in the most positive light possible. It's actually not that abnormal for someone to take one or two years between undergrad and grad school, so something like "looking for jobs, preparing for grad school" is probably fine -- you don't need to have written papers, or started charitable foundations etc. in the meantime!!